It was a miserable wet day on a chaotic Saturday afternoon in the centre of Cambridge, so I decided to take myself off for a bit of lunch to avoid the misery.

After my visit at The Wrestlers the other day, I had a real hankering for more of the same. Several people in the Cambridge Foodies recommended that I visit Luk Thai, suggesting that it is one of the best Thai restaurants in the city. It clearly has a stellar reputation and has been a place on my radar for a long time now, so I was excited to visit and see how it differs from other Thai restaurants.

Luk Thai is located in a pub called ‘The Cricketers’ on Melbourne Place. This is in one of the most central locations in Cambridge but also manages to pull off the trick of also being a very quiet place. It’s a pleasant place to be and feels like you are stepping out of the craziness of Cambridge into a tranquil hideaway.

🅿️ If you are coming from out of town then the closest car park is the Queen Anne or Adam & Eve Street.

The restaurant is decorated in a tasteful Thai theme. I was quite taken by the wall sized picture of ‘Maya Bay’ which took me back to my time traveling across Thailand. They even served one of my favourite beers on tap, Singha. If you squint your eyes at the beer in front of the picture hard enough, it almost feels like you are on holiday! 🤣

The menu has a fairly standard selection of classic Thai dishes, such as noodles, Thai curry, soups, stir fry, and salads. Under ‘chef specials’ I noticed a few duck dishes like the ‘Roast Duck In Tamarind Sauce’ and the ‘Honey Duck’ that I will be keen to try on my return. I noticed that the red Thai curry came with rump steak rather than regular beef, which I thought was a nice touch. I decided to go for that.

The Thai curry came out with a portion of rice. The rump steak was not only delicious and tender but a generous portion. The sauce was lovely and creamy and I thoroughly enjoyed the aubergines. The chillies didn’t really have much heat to them which made the curry quite mild (despite being labelled as ‘medium to hot’). Otherwise it was a lovely balanced curry with lots of flavour.

It would have been nice to have a slightly larger portion of rice for £17. On its own, the dish would likely have failed to fill me up… It’s just as well I ordered two mains! 🤣

Next up was the pad Thai. This was beautifully presented with a garnish of salad which gave it a colourful pop. It is served with noodles, egg, spring onions, carrots, sprouts, and crushed peanuts.

I ordered my pad Thai with prawns that were so substantial that they felt like king prawns. Like with the rump steak in the Thai curry, the portions were also generous, as well as being big and juicy. The crushed peanuts really complimented them well, giving a satisfying crunch on the bite. Top marks!

The staff here are delightful. The two who served me were friendly, polite, and couldn’t do enough for me. The service was very prompt, even though there were quite a few people dining in the other room. Most importantly, they didn’t shame me for scoffing two main meals by myself. 🤣

Luk Thai is an absolutely fantastic Thai restaurant that I highly recommend. It’s in a beautiful part of town, the people and the service are fantastic, and the food was excellent. Prices felt a little steep with the curry coming to £17 and the beer at £6.70…but considering this included rump steak and being located in the dead centre of Cambridge, this is to be expected.

In terms of comparing it to The Wrestlers, I would actually say that even though they serve similar dishes, they offer different experiences. Luk Thai offers a more authentic Thai experience, including Thai beer on tap, where The Wrestlers is Thai food served in an bustling English pub. Luk Thai’s rump steak also stood out from the rather ordinary beef at The Wrestlers. With that said, The Wrestlers is much easier access for people from outside of Cambridge, offers a spicier curry, and slightly cheaper prices. So it depends what you prefer.

Thanks for reading.